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BCIS Interim Management Directors Named

AILA Doc No. 03030742 | Dated March 7, 2003

U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

March 3, 2003

BUREAU OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES INTERIM MANAGEMENT DIRECTORS
NAMED

Washington, DC – The Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security,
Gordon England, and Acting Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration
Services (BCIS), Eduardo Aguirre Jr., have announced the appointment of Interim
Regional Directors and Interim District Directors for the BCIS. The appointments
became effective March 1 when BCIS formally assumed responsibility for the
administration of immigration benefits.

The interim directors will work out of the current locations of the 33 District
Offices and the three regional offices of the former Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS).

“These men and women will play a critical role in preserving our nation’s proud
immigration tradition while preserving the integrity of the system and helping
secure the homeland,” said Deputy Secretary England.

“The establishment of a bureau devoted exclusively to the administration of
immigration benefits represents a historic opportunity,” said Acting Director
Aguirre. “That singleness of purpose, together with the dedication and expertise
of our workforce, will greatly enhance our ability to deliver services to the
millions who seek out our benefits every year.”

The BCIS is made up of some 15,000 employees and contractors headed by a
director who reports to the Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security. The Bureau
will be responsible for the administration of immigration benefits and services
including the processing of citizenship applications, family and
employment-based petitions, and asylum and refugee processing. The BCIS has
launched an outreach campaign to reassure the public about the status of INS
documents, offices, and services during the ongoing transition.

The BCIS is one of three components within the Department of Homeland Security
tasked with the duties formerly assigned to the INS. The other two bureaus, the
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP) and the Bureau of Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (BICE), will assume responsibility for immigration
enforcement activities at the border and in the nation’s interior.